Ink! Coffee signs lease to replace Common Grounds in Highland Square

The owner of property at the heart of the Highland neighborhood, West 32nd Street and Lowell, inked a deal today with Ink Coffee to take over the space Common Grounds will vacate this spring.

Property owner Ken Wolf said the Colorado-grown chain of coffeehouses signed a lease Tuesday morning for the space at 3484 W. 32nd Ave. Wolf wouldn't release other details of the deal, except that he hopes for a July opening for Ink Coffee.

Ink Coffee founder Keith "Herbie" Herbert describes himself on his website as a former ski bum who hopped a plane to Italy to study the art of making coffee. He founded his company in 1994, starting with a pushcart in Snowmass Village. He now has eight Ink Coffee locations in the Aspen and Denver areas, as well as a wholesale roasting and distribution business.

Wolf said Ink Coffee is a good fit for the neighborhood and good replacement of what will be lost with the exit of Common Grounds, whose lease expires at the end of April.

Common Grounds had been a Highland Square mainstay for 20 years, opening long before the neighborhood filled with hip restaurants, bars and shops — including another java source, Highland Cork & Coffee.

Common Grounds owners Mary Rogers and son Ed Rogers said they decided to leave after they couldn't come to terms with Wolf over required upgrades to the building on top of a 40 percent bump in rent.

Common Grounds is moving this spring to a roastery building the Rogerses own at 2139 W. 44th Ave. in the Sunnyside neighborhood. Common Grounds also has a LoDo location.